Rennebu

Rennebu is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Berkåk, located along European route E6. The majority of the population lives in the villages of Berkåk, Innset, Stamnan, Ulsberg, Voll, and Nerskogen.

The 948 km2 municipality is the 123rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rennebu is the 255th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,481. The municipality's population density is 2.7 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 2.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Rennebu was established in 1839 when it was separated from the municipality of Meldal. Initially, the population was 2,368. On 1 January 1966, the parish of Innset (population: 420) was transferred from Kvikne municipality (and also from Hedmark county) to Rennebu (and Sør-Trøndelag county). Then on 1 January 1970, the Garlia area (population: 5) was transferred from Tynset (and Hedmark county) to Rennebu (and Sør-Trøndelag). On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Rennebu (Rennabú). The first element is, maybe, the plural genitive case of which means "journey", "march", or "road". Probably because two old important roads cross the municipality: one follows the Orkla river from the Orkdalsfjord (part of the Trondheimsfjord) to the village of Berkåk where it connects with the road from the Gudbrandsdalen valley and Oppdal to Gauldalen and Trondheim (today the European route E6). The last element is which means "rural district".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 19 February 1982. The official blazon is "Or, a pall reversed couped gules" (I gull ein svevande omvend raud gaffelkross). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a Y-shaped design in red. The design symbolizes the outline of the local church, Rennebu kirke (erected 1669), which is one of the oldest (and very few) churches in Norway based on a Y-shaped outline. The arms were designed by Bjørn Casper Horgen after an idea by Magne Jostein Hoel. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Rennebu. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
Rennebu mainly consists of uncultivated areas of mountains, lakes, moors, and forests. The highest point is the 1548 m tall Svarthetta. The mountain Ilfjellet is located in the northeastern part of the municipality.

The Orkla River flows through the municipality from south to north in the Orkdalen valley. The northeasternmost part of the Trollheimen mountain range also lies within the municipality of Rennebu.

The municipality is surrounded by the municipalities of Oppdal and Rindal to the west, Meldal to the north, Midtre Gauldal to the east, and Tynset to the south. The Forollhogna National Park lies in the extreme southeastern part of the municipality.

Climate
Situated at some altitude inland in mid-Norway, Rennebu has a boreal climate. 10 of the 12 record lows are from 1967 or older. The all-time low -37.6 °C is from February 1953. The most recent record low is August from 1987. The all-time high 30.4 °C is from July 1991. Snow depth recording in Berkåk (475 m) shows that Berkåk on average has 138 days/year with at least 25 cm snow on the ground (base period 1991–2008).

Government
Rennebu Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rennebu is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Rennebu:


 * 1839–1845: Ingebrigt Trondsen Eggan
 * 1846–1849: Engel Meslo
 * 1850–1851: Ole Olsen
 * 1852–1853: Ingebrigt Stavne, Sr.
 * 1854–1857: Engel Meslo
 * 1858–1859: Torger Rise
 * 1860-1860: Mikkel Kosberg
 * 1860–1861: Ingebrigt Stavne, Sr.
 * 1862–1863: Torger Rise
 * 1864–1867: Johan Fredrik Jørgen Schwabe
 * 1868–1871: Einar Hoel
 * 1872–1877: Ingebrigt Meslo
 * 1878–1881: Arnt Johnsen Mærk
 * 1882–1893: Ingebrigt Meslo (MV)
 * 1894–1903: Trond Trondsen Eggan (V)
 * 1903–1904: Sivert Gunnes (V)
 * 1905–1907: Ingebrigt Stavne, Jr. (V)
 * 1908–1913: Sivert Gunnes (V)
 * 1914–1922: Angrim Brattset (V)
 * 1923–1925: Mikkel Voll (V)
 * 1926–1931: Ola Mikkelsen Gunnes (V)
 * 1932–1934: Jon Gunnes (V)
 * 1935–1937: Karl Johnson (V)
 * 1938–1942: Erik Myrmo (Bp)
 * 1942–1945: Inge Clett Mull (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Erik Myrmo (Bp)
 * 1946–1947: Arnt Kjelland (V)
 * 1948–1951: Karl Johnson (V)
 * 1952–1955: Ingebrigt Haugset (Bp)
 * 1956–1959: John M. Meslo (V)
 * 1960–1965: Jens P. Flå (KrF)
 * 1965–1967: Torleif Sundset (V)
 * 1968–1973: Jens P. Flå (KrF)
 * 1973–1975: Kåre Kleven (Sp)
 * 1976–1985: Magne Jostein Hoel (Sp)
 * 1986–1991: Alf Gunnes (KrF)
 * 1992–1995: Magne Jostein Hoel (Sp)
 * 1995–1999: Tora Husan (KrF)
 * 1999–2006: Trond Jære (Sp)
 * 2006–2011: Bjørn Rogstad (H)
 * 2011–2015: Ola T. Lånke (KrF)
 * 2015–2023: Ola Øie (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Per Arne Lium (Sp)

Notable people

 * Jürgen Christoph von Koppelow (1684 in Rennebu – 1770), a Norwegian nobleman and military officer
 * Jens P. Flå (born 1923 in Rennebu - 2002), a politician and Mayor of Rennebu from 1959 to 1969
 * Heidi Skjerve (born 1979 in Rennebu), a Norwegian jazz singer and composer
 * Astrid Smeplass (born 1996 in Berkåk), a Norwegian singer and songwriter who uses the stage name Astrid S

Sport

 * Magne Myrmo (born 1943 in Rennebu), a former cross-country skier, silver medallist at the 1972 Winter Olympics
 * Vebjørn Rodal (born 1972 in Berkåk), a former 800m. runner, gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics
 * Vegard Skjerve (born 1988 in Rennebu), a retired Norwegian footballer with 276 caps with FK Haugesund
 * Jo Sondre Aas (born 1989 in Grindal), a Norwegian football player with over 330 club caps